Baby Sleep Tips
Yes, every baby is different, but here are a few baby sleep tips that stand the test of time.
What are the guaranteed-to-work baby sleep tips? This is the question we get on a weekly basis. It’s every new (and veteran) parent’s main concern—how are we going to get this little bundle off to dreamland?
We’ve tried them all, and we’re here to say that the real secret lays in creating a healthy, calm, sleep environment, and a routine that gets baby in the sleep groove.
Remember when you were pregnant and you feared that having a baby would be the end of spontaneity? Well, you were right. Kind of. We can’t overemphasize the ways in which babies benefit from a predictable sleep schedule. Yes, this takes a few months of structure, organization and discipline on the front end. But you’ll be surprised to find that once Baby is in the groove, you’ll find new freedom in being able to count on the fact that she’ll be sound asleep by 7:01pm.
What does that mean for you? It could mean an evening spent reading, catching up on work, enjoying a quiet dinner with your partner or a long bath. It means the freedom to be spontaneous about your “you time.” Which, any mother would agree, is far better than spending two hours trying to get the baby to sleep.
Work on getting into the sleep groove. Start quieting the house and reducing stimulation; turn the screens off, dim the lights, let the calm set it. Schedule that last feeding to finish right before the desired bedtime, fire up the white noise machine and get the room as dark as possible. Lay baby down and slip out the door.
New Mom Sleep Tips
Just because you successfully got Baby off to bed, doesn’t mean you’re sleeping easy. Despite the exhaustion of being a new parent, once the nursery is quiet, some moms find themselves staring at the clock. There’s the anxiety of knowing that Baby is going to be up for a feed in no time, and if she doesn’t get some sleep fast, she’s never going to make it through the next day.
But, the good news is, what works for baby can work for Mom too. Just as your baby benefits from a calm, predictable, routinized bedtime schedule, so will you.
Keep the Baby routine going. Just because you put Baby down doesn’t mean you have to turn on all the lights again or reintroduce the distractions. Make the bedroom a screen free zone—we know that you’re so fried there’s not much more you can do before bed, besides scroll through your Facebook feed, but the blue light does nothing good for your circadian rhythms. Take a bath or read a book instead.
Moms (and dads too!) will benefit from exercise and fresh air daily. As challenging as it is to care for a new baby, you might find yourself with a lot of pent up energy at the end of the day that will make it hard to sleep. Make that daily walk a priority and you’ll all sleep better.
Welcome Baby Sleep Tips and Consultation
If you’ve tried everything and are still struggling to get baby to sleep, Welcome Baby Care offers Sleep Consultation packages that assess your current routines and offer the baby sleep tips that you can apply directly to your situation. Contact us for more information, or to set up your appointment.
